A case study is a great way to ease yourself into conference speaking. You know the subject. You’re comfortable with the material. Perhaps you’ve given a version of the talk internally.
But familiarity can get you into trouble. I’ve seen speakers present case studies with little sense of wonder or curiosity about their own work.
Yes, they’ve reflected on what happened. But they’ve failed to make meaning of it. And it’s here where the treasure is buried.
When you make meaning from your experience, your material and your delivery are transformed. You still explain what you did and the outcomes you achieved. The gold comes in turning that experience into something others can use.
Here’s an example.
My first conference talk was about tackling tough challenges while growing membership. I described what I did. Then I pulled back and realised I could explain those actions as a process. I called it the 3Cs.
That framing came afterwards, once I’d turned personal reflection into something closer to principles. And that shift changed my opening line into something much bigger than I’d planned:
“Belonging to an association is about so much more than a list of benefits.”
That’s what finding your treasure does.
Every case study has it. Buried in there. Your job is to dig it out and make it the star.
Here’s where to start.
Look at the last slides in your deck, or the final lines of your script. This is where presenters often leave their treasure. See what’s sitting there. What jewels, principles or meaning is trying to emerge?
When you have your gold, move it. Put it front and centre. Then explain your actions, how you got there. And finish with what you’ll do next, or what others should keep in mind. Treating your experience this way gives it legs. My case study was a story about what happened. And it pointed the way forward.
The 3Cs case study became:
- An awards entry
- An article series
- A membership engagement workshop
- A Speaker Training workshop
Most importantly it convinced me I could succeed as a trainer and coach. Which changed my life!
So next time you’re preparing a case study for a conference, take your reflections and ask:
“What’s the bigger picture here? And what might this mean for others?”
Finding your treasure will transform your material. And your performance. And opportunities will flow to you and to your association.
Thanks for reading, and happy conference case study presenting.
Are you keen to support your contributors to add value to your Association’s activities? I can help. Take a look of my in-house training workshops to see how.
PS This post was inspired by Kolb’s Learning Cycle and Zull’s discovery of a transformation line between Reflection and Thinking. Crossing this line enables someone to turn an experience into a more general principle.
One of many jewels I took away from Karen Pratt on Coaching Development’s Transactional Analysis Foundation Year. Looking forward to discovering more treasures across this year.